Ella placed her hand on the cold metallic door-knob, her disheveled curly stands sticking to her neck from all the sweat she discharged and her lips, ajar. She was panting gravely, fulfilling her drained body's dire need for oxygen.

She slid down the door behind her and tried to brush down the creases and wrinkles that now graced her cherished navy blue dress.

Ella closed her tired eyes and laid her head on the paneled wooden surface as her mouth let out a deep, lasting sigh. Her quivering hands reached out to her aching bare feet, pressing down on them to ease the stabbing pain.

She recalled all the past events, like a record stuck in an old, rusty gramophone on repeat.

Her mind harked back to Prince Theodore who started dragging her by the elbow, up the stairs, to his room where he was temporarily staying, after his absurd "victory" speech.

To which Ella resisted with all her might, of course, her feet extensively stomped on the marbled floor as she tried to snub-off Prince Theodore's slender fingers that held on to her like a dying man holding on to his dear life.

Her frail attempts, this time too, were met with defeat as Prince Theodore smirked on Ella's inadequate strives to free herself of his iron-grip.

This did make Ella realize that Prince Theodore was strong beyond-belief, the first time that she got a whiff of his incredible strength was when he detached the sword right out of her hands in one blow, back in that tournament.

The mere thought of it alone caused her to smack even harder on his muscular hand that latched on her.

The second demonstration of his force was a few moments ago when that small dart hurled by him, pierced through her rigid earring and stuck to the wall.

Ella was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of her dismantled piece of jewelry when Princess Irene threw it across the hall in a frenzy and fell on the ground, clutching the fabric of her white gown.

For the first time in her life, Ella found Princess Irene and herself a tad bit similar.

With the way her round eyes reddened and brimmed with uncontrollable tears and sorrow and her tinted lips firmly bitten in her pearly white teeth to refrain from making out any sort of noise that would portray her as a thin-skinned human being.

Princess Irene's current miserable situation reminded Ella of her mother when she died. She was the only streak of twilight in her otherwise gloomy town, immersed in never-ending nightfall. Maybe Prince Theodore was as important to Princess Irene as her mother was to Ella.

The sad idea of it caused her brows to knit together in regret as a small chunk of her worn-out heart sympathized with Princess Irene's wounded one.

What pissed Ella off the most was when she felt the floor lift beneath her feet, her arms and eyes now facing the staircase and Prince Theodore's rock-hard back. Her mouth hung open in perplexity and her orbs almost falling out.

"PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT, YOU BEAST!" Ella screamed on top of her lungs as she wiggled her legs wildly and proceeded to thrash his back with her tiny fists.

Prince Theodore paused in his route as he tightly clasped on to Ella's struggling figure which was tossed upon his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He slightly covered one of his ears, with his elevated bulky arm to the shouts of her incoherent words aimed at him.

"You know I'm extremely gentle with the ladies, this could have gone smoothly if you didn't protest so aggressively." Prince Theodore spoke as he re-adjusted her upon his shoulder.

"Gentle? I hardly believe that." Ella retorted back as she harshly kicked his stomach with her knee, the aftermath of which caused him to loosen his grasp on her and groan out in pain.

She took this opportunity to hop off his shoulder and hysterically run up the rest of the stairs and shut herself in the nearest room she found.

Ella opened her eyes and pushed herself off the door she was resting against, her vision adjusted to the brightly lit room as her hands traced the dusty table set beside her. She brushed the dirt off her fingers and keenly inspected the antique furniture in front of her.

The bed was well-made with silky white sheets, fluffy pillows and a maroon velvet duvet placed neatly upon it. The room was illuminated with a candle chandelier suspended above and ended with a large glass window covered with fringed curtains.

Ella dragged her feet across the spacious area, her eyes traveling in every direction and her skirt swabbing the grimy wooden floor beneath her. The room was probably abandoned from the looks of it, Ella thought as she rubbed her shivering frame, trying to calm the goose-bumps that rose on her long arms from the chilly atmosphere.

Ella spun around because of the consistent pounding that was heard on the door, her eyes enlarged and her arms hung back by her body. She rapidly whipped her head back and forth searching for anything to protect herself with.

She already had an ample amount of Prince Theodore's bullshit and she wasn't staying for more. Ella was going to get out of this room, hurt Prince Theodore if needed, and sprint out the palace if that's what it took to scoot in her warm blanket and sleep like a baby for the rest for the next few days. It had been a rough night and all she wanted was peace and some time to think.

She bent down on her keens and searched for anything sharp or heavy she could get her hands on.

Her eyes caught the sight of something shining under the bed, she extended her arm further and pulled it out. Ella smiled to the sight of a pointy- edged nail, right about the size of her palm, seized in her hand.

She was about to pick herself up when her eyes resolved upon a shabby-looking picture frame lying near the edge of the bed. She squatted back on her knees to take a closer look at it.

Ella didn't want to get her hands grubby again so she blew on the filth blanketing the photo frame, without touching it.

It was a portrait of a breath-taking woman dressed in a red velvet royal robe. Her thin waist wrapped in a white satin crinoline adorned with crusty silver lace and copper embroideries featuring branches of oak leaves.

Her straight dark hair dropped down to her lower back and on top of them sat an imperial crown embellished with gems and gold. She was posing with her soft dark irises staring directly at a toddler seated on her lap.

Ella recognized the child's jet black hair and light-toned skin.

Princess Irene.

Was this the Empress of Dalia, Queen Helene Ernest? Ella had only heard of her magnificent beauty and conduct, she hadn't seen her up till now.

The hammering on the door had increased by three times now, Ella budged her head away from the picture and rolled her eyes, she swiftly got up, gave the portrait one last look, and tip-toed to the origin of the sound.

She pressed her ear against the door. After the loud persistent thumping which led Ella to believe that her hearing had almost impaired, it had gone eerily quiet.

Ella debated for a few minutes, should she unlock the door and bolt as fast as she can or should she stay and wait?

She tightly grappled her newly found piece of weapon and bit her lip in anxiety, Ella knew she couldn't stay in forever, she had to get out at some point and the quicker she does the sooner it all ends. She turned the doorknob and yanked open the door abruptly hoisting the nail In front of her.

No one. All clear.

Ella heaved her brows in confusion and sealed her lips, the vacant hallway ahead of her with not a sign of a single soul, had creeped her out. Her hand stuffed the nail in her skirt's pocket as she peeped around every corner. She was all alone.

Ella shrugged off the weird feeling that crept up on the back of her mind as she took the chance to turn back and charge for the stairs. She was going to go back and probably never wander around the palace premises until she had constructed a decisive plan.

Ella wasn't a spontaneous person. She couldn't act impulsively to Prince Theodore's courting remarks or Princess Irene's madness. She needed everything figured and schemed beforehand.

Ella's slim figure, however, crashed into a bigger one. She felt two muscular arms engulf her into a warm embrace, the tips of his pitch-black mellow hair caressed her neck and sent tingles down her spine. She felt him tighten his hold around her as he brought his plump lips closer to her ear.

"Prince Theodore, you have crossed your limi-"

"Aww, why are you so upset my cuddly-wuddly?"

Cuddly-wudlly?

Ella would have whacked his feet with hers and swung the nail hidden in her pocket at him if she didn't familiarize with his husky voice and the vigorous stench of alcohol that reeked off him.

Prince Emmett.

Ella stood rooted to the ground, her otherwise wheat-ish cheeks had now immersed themselves in a ruby-red stain. She parted her lips, gasping for air as her hands pushed onto Prince Emmett's chest to increase the distance between them.

Prince Emmett chuckled on Ella's puny efforts, he lightly stroked her hair and placed his chin upon her shoulder.

"Why are you always pushing me away my snuggle-bug?"

Ella paused, her tender hands which were busy shoving the Prince away had now come to a halt. She rotated her head a little and gazed at his puffy cheek.

"I have already told you and I will tell you, again and again, I'll be with you when you reach your lowest, I'll be with you when you need a shoulder to cry or a lap to lay on, I'll be with you even when the whole world stands against you."

Huh?

"So leave him, leave Theo and come to me."

Ella was sure that she heard Prince Emmett sniffle a bit, his hot tears soaked her shoulder and his nimble fingers trailed her back down to her waist.

"You've butchered my heart, you've torn it apart merciless yet it still longs for you. I would have stopped myself if I could but I have truly, TRULY lost all control."

Ella couldn't comprehend his actions, her heart had skipped several beats and her whole body exhumed heat. Her hand was now removed from Prince Emmett's chest and placed on her own. She slammed her eyes shut and hit her chest relentlessly to calm her startled self down.

Ella knew her boundaries and she always chose to stick within them but this time, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Did you not see my love for you or did you choose to ignore it all this time?... you're obliviousness will be the death of me, Irene. it kills me inside."

Irene?

Ella booted on Prince Emmett's toe with her heel and plunged backward. Her sudden strike caused the drunken man to stumble backward, he tripped over his cape and dropped flat on the wooden slope.

Ella too fell to the ground, her trembling fingers wiped the moisture off her face as she chewed on her bottom lip so hard that she could taste the crimson liquid that gushed out of it.

For her, the entire ordeal felt like a Deja-vu, as if like she had already experienced it or as if she had seen someone as dejected as her before, fallen on the floor, in the same way, yearning for a man she knew she could never get because he was in love with another woman.

Maybe it was karma, that finally came knocking on Ella's door.

It was karma that made her feel the same way as Princess Irene.

She knew it from the moment their eyes met, from the moment he smiled at her and worried for her, even if it was just by a little.

After all, she did fall in love at first sight,

 back then,

with Prince Emmett.

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